Damehood is cherry on the cake for Mary Berry
Scientists on Queen’s Birthday list, though senior members who may yet face criticism miss out
MARY BERRY has spoken of her joy at receiving a damehood in t oday’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list, 69 years after she left school with one O-level.
Dame Mary said she was “absolutely overwhelmed” at the award for services to broadcasting, the culinary arts and charity during her 50-year career.
“For most of my life I have been lucky enough to follow my passion, to teach cookery through books and the media,” she said. “I just wish my parents and brothers were here to share my joy, as my only achievement at school was just one O-level – in cookery, of course. However, I am sure they are looking down and smiling.”
Today’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list is dominated by those who helped in the fight against the pandemic, from the famous, including Marcus Rashford and Joe Wicks, to the “NHS heroes” – doctors, nurses and volunteers.
This year’s list was postponed from June so it could include medical workers and fundraisers instrumental in the Covid-19 effort, celebrating the deeds of the well known as well as ordinary people, including delivery drivers who dropped off supplies to the vulnerable, and health and care workers who put themselves at risk to help.
Rashford, the footballer who ensured children in need received meals in the summer holidays, was made an MBE. He said: “As a young black man from Wythenshawe, never did I think I would be accepting an MBE, never mind an MBE at the age of 22.”
Wicks was also made an MBE for helping children keep active and mentally fit during lockdown with his online PE lessons that reached thousands.
The Cabinet Office said 4,000 nominations were received this year. The list is the youngest in history, with a fifth of the awards going to the under-30s.
Tommy Steele, 83, the singer known as Britain’s first rock ’n’ roll star, receives a knighthood while Sir David Attenborough is appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George for services to TV and conservation.
The Prime Minister said the awards were “a testament to the sort of country we are – caring, compassionate and resolute”. He added: “The hard work and dedication of these local often unsung heroes has helped carry us through.”
Meanwhile, five Sage scientists were rewarded with OBES despite ongoing controversy over the medical advice that led the country into lockdown.
LEADING scientists on the Sage committee have been rewarded with top honours despite ongoing controversy over the scientific advice that led the country into lockdown.
Six members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (right) are today awarded OBES for “services to the Covid-19 response” in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. There are also dozens of frontline health workers and volunteers who fought the virus.
However, Prof Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer, and senior Public Health England officials are understood to have been passed over amid concern their performance may be criticised in a future public inquiry.
The six Sage scientists awarded OBES include Prof Graham Medley, the Government’s chief pandemic modeller, and Calum Semple, a professor of child health and outbreak medicine at the
University of Liverpool, who last month called for tougher restrictions to tackle the UK’S surge in infection rates.
Sage has been repeatedly criticised over the timing and accuracy of advice offered in the early stages of the pandemic. In July, Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, accused the committee of giving the “wrong” advice to the Government while failing to propose a virus test and trace strategy.
Cabinet Office sources insisted the Sage members had been rewarded for their “voluntary contribution” to the fight against Covid-19, as well as their “vital work in other areas”.
But officials are understood to have screened out nominations of those who continue to manage the coronavirus response and whose actions might be seen as controversial, focusing instead on community volunteers, hospital chiefs and front-line health workers.
Today’s list does not include any scientists from Public Health England, the government agency widely held to have underperformed during the pandemic, despite four scientists from Public Health Wales being honoured.
A nomination for Prof Whitty was discounted at an early stage, it is understood, although insiders stressed he and other leading figures will be considered for honours once the pandemic is over.
Those who did make the list include Joe Wicks, the body coach, who is awarded an MBE for helping keep the nation fit in lockdown. This year, the 35-year-old claimed a Guinness World Record after one online fitness class was watched by nearly a million people. He said the award was a “dream come true”.
Lynne Grieves, a registered nurse, moved into Northlea Court care home in Cramlington, Northumberland, to look after residents in early April, and stayed for 12 weeks. She has been honoured with a British Empire Medal. “I feel it was worth whatever I did sacrifice for such a short time,” she said.
Ali Ghorbangholi and Prof Mark Wilson, co-founders of the GOODSAM app, were awarded OBES for developing a platform for volunteers to help vulnerable shielded people. Emma Walmsley, pharmaceutical giant GlaxosmithKline’s chief executive, is made a dame after the firm’s work on a vaccine.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “The committee looked for vital, often voluntary, contributions to the pandemic response.”